Gabrielle Jane Lawrence was born with a life changing disability called Hemimegalencephaly which affected the left side of her brain. As a result of this it also caused many other problems such as seizures and learning difficulties. Despite having to deal with all of these challenges, Gabrielle was one of the brightest, happiest young girls i have had the honour in meeting. Knowing her for many years, i know she was able to overcome so much with the help of her amazing family and the support and care from the Julias House team. Thanks to their efforts Gabrielle was able to meet some incredible friends that i know she will always hold a special place for in her heart. I can still remember the day Diana sent me a video of Gabrielle using her walker, despite being told she would never be able to achieve such things, she was always above and beyond any doctors opinions which is what made her so incredible. As-well as this, I am also doing it in memory of a much loved woman that i was very close to, Maria, who sadly passed last September. Gabrielles adoring mother who spent day in and out taking care of her every need no matter how much trouble and stress she was under. Maria truly was an inspiration to all and she undoubtedly loved all her children to the moon and back. 

So for Gabrielle and her family, I am over coming my fears and taking part in Julias House Skydive with my best friend and Gabrielles older sister Diana, to raise as much money as possible so that they are able to continue giving life changing support and care to young children who need it. I am taking on this challenge because I want to help families facing unimaginable heartbreak - the knowledge that their child may not live into adulthood. Julias House provides frequent, flexible care for children with life-limited or life-threatening conditions to give their parents a much-needed break, as well as offering friendship and support for the whole family. Amazingly, Julias House has to raise 95 per cent of the money it needs each year to run this vital service which is why I have chosen to support them. Your kind sponsorship will make a life-changing difference to these families.

*** With everything going on with coronavirus!

Along with many organisations right now, they've had to take the tough decision to furlough some of their staff. While some are still out in the community caring for local children and families. The staff are also here to help support the NHS, not only by continuing their services in the community, but also by looking at what NHS services they can take on to relieve the huge pressure on the local NHS. By shutting their shops, hospices and many home sessions due to families self-isolating , they've also had to cancel any upcoming fundraising events like walks, bike rides etc. Therefore they will be finding things difficult at Julia’s House in the months to come due to a huge loss in fundraising income.

They rely on public funding for 95% of their income and they anticipated to have lost at least already £1 million income through the shop closures, fundraising events and activities being cancelled. I understand circumstances are incredibly hard right now for people and my page will be live until I do the jump... so please revisit and donate later down the line and share around. Right now my event is still going ahead and i'm determined more than ever to do as much as I can for them through my donation page! 

Stay safe everyone x